Posted on 09/16/2014 10:32:38 AM PDT by MNDude
OK, we get it. Millennials are leaving the church in droves! Sound the alarms! Circle the wagons!
Not much makes me angrier than seeing those articles that make the rounds on Facebook every few months. You know the ones: a pastor claims to know why Millennials are really walking away from church. This particular article has proven especially resilient; it pops up in my Newsfeed every few months, to much acclaim. This one, the one that really pushed my buttons and prompted me to finally start the blog weve been talking about for a month now, calls these articles to task, purporting to know how the church really lost the millennials. (Cliff notes: it says the exact same thing as all the other articles.) This one innovatively shifts the focus to Sunday School rather than youth group, but the conclusion is the same.
(Excerpt) Read more at swingingfromgrapevines.wordpress.com ...
You obviously only read the bold type and brought your prejudices with it.
So are you saying these are the good ones or the evil ones???
Have a small group meeting tonight where we will be learning about the difference between eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and eating of the Tree of Life.
Will mail you later.
Praise God for church planters!!!
> His use of the P.C. term “LGBTQ” makes clear to me that by “ostracized” he means “identified their sins as sins.”
Maybe, but I could understand its usage in the manner of trying to communicate an idea if the person were surrounded by the term (like you would be getting a degree in social sciences or journalism); I was lucky in that my degree [Computer Science] is/was fairly insulated from that sort of social engineering crap. — I certainly wasn’t defending the conclusions, but to dismiss the issues raised out of hand seems to be a bit... harsh, indeed, prone to a perfectionistic abuse: “You were wrong in one statement; therefore all your statements are wrong” isn’t sound reasoning.
Moreover, it seems to me that the attitude you displayed was akin to that mentioned in James 2 — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+2&version=NRSV
When there is no tangible, moral consequence for leaving the church (aka the Body of Christ and Biblical doctrine), then why not leave? Of course what one does not see until much time passes is the spiritual consequences of the separation.
The church must unapologetically construct itself on the Gospel and sound doctrine. If the result of this is a smaller church, than so be it. We must never allow ourselves to redefine God based on who we wish Him to be. That is nothing more than self-worship.
>> “ITS NOT ABOUT MEEEEEE!”
>
> On the target. “I don’t get anything out of Church” sums up the problem. They should try “I came to Church to give thanks.” Try giving instead of getting.
I don’t know — there are some preachers that don’t use the Bible all that heavily; I could certainly see this as cause to say “I don’t get anything out of church”.
And that's why evangelical churches are dying, and liberal churches like the Episcopalians are thriving.
... Wait a minute... That's NOT what's happening.
How so?
So, basically, they want their church-going experience to be welcoming and ear-tickling. When it isn’t, they leave.
Got it.
As for tithing, it works. Perhaps it is not working for them because they’re not giving in faith or blessing?
I’m saying those are songs which have no business in a worship service, but the youngsters love them so we all get to take part.
Just the last one in the list:
“He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree”
“If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking”
“And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest”
God isn’t my prom date. He is my Lord and Savior. And if His grace is an ocean, we’re floating, not sinking, because grace is how we are saved.
But hey, I’m dumb enough to stay in the church when the college kids around me are gone to the next big thing.
Ok, we are being honest:
Church is boring.
And.. You keep telling them what they want is not acceptable, but every other outlet tells them it’s ok.
And..every time we’ve “ trusted” an elder, we’ve gotten screwed.
I think that pretty much sums it up.
Whatever you say.
There seemed to be a bit of moralistic superiority and judgmentalism for the use of LBGQWERTY [or whatever it is now]; the portion of " have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?" was what I was thinking initially, but I think perhaps the next chapter's discription of the Two Wisdoms would be better
(James 3:13-18)Now I grant that all this is just from initial 'tones' of your reply, and text is a terrible medium for good discernment of 'tone' so it is certainly possible that I am mistaken; in short, I merely want to remind you as a fellow Christian of mercy (I'm more prone to harsh judgement than I'm comfortable with, myself) — James 2:12-13 says So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
Hebrews 5:12-14
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Is there something wrong with wanting a worship service to be reverent? All I know is we’re trying it in a different way and from the words of the OP, it’s not working too well. God’s isn’t in charge. People are inventing their “personal Jesus”. Should we really be surprised when they feel unfulfilled and leave?
Obviously we agree to disagree. Be well.
Thank you, dear friend :)
Bump for further study
Well I didn’t read all the comments so I might be repeating someone but...
The Cross of Christ is an affront to all of us if we’re honest and the “self-life” is still very popular among fallen, sinful human beings. Not much has changes has it? Millennials are just the latest to be offended by it. It is still God’s path to life eternal and the path to growth for the believer. It will never lose its power PTL!
If it lacks Jesus, then it ought to be.
There's little more disgusting than the religousity-trapings severed from the Vine.
And.. You keep telling them what they want is not acceptable, but every other outlet tells them its ok.
Debatable; every 'want' is not necessarily a sin [e.g. to be competent at your work], but there are many good wants that Satan can [and does] twist to evil.
Given the talk about the dangers of authoritarianism, there is the possibility that the first category is what's being told is not acceptable.
And..every time weve trusted an elder, weve gotten screwed.
This, this is certainly a valid point.
I've seen people who, when told I love you
in a particular cone/cadence tense up and prepare for Bad ThingsTM as their instinctual defenses kick in — what must have happened to make those three words trigger such a reaction? And dare we forget what Jesus said about teaching children and millstones?
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